ARIJ Annual 16th Forum kicks off in Amman
Amman – ARIJ: ARIJ annual 16th Forum kicked off in Amman, on Friday, under the theme: “Cross-border collaboration in a fragmented world,” with the participation of around two thousand journalists and supporters of investigative and independent journalism in person and virtually.
More than 600 journalists participated in the forum in Amman, in addition to 1,300 participated online, the participants represent more than 60 countries.
More than 100 speakers participated in 40 sessions during the three days of the forum, which concludes on Sunday, December 3, with the announcement of the winners of the ARIJ 14th Annual Awards for the best Arab investigative reports. This year, more than 149 investigative reports were submitted for the award, from 16 Arab countries.
Investigative journalists from all Arab countries participate in the forum, along with fact-checkers and institutions specialized in supporting investigative journalism, training, and information technology leadership.
ARIJ Director General Rawan Damen said “This year’s edition comes in exceptional circumstances, with Israel killing dozens of male and female journalists in Gaza, Palestine, and in southern Lebanon. It is important to raise the voice to demand holding killers accountable and put an end to impunity”.
Damen stressed the importance of investigating war crimes, noting that “holding such a forum in these circumstances is both a shout and a challenge”.
Seven exhibitions will be organized on the sidelines of the forum (December 1 – 3): Journalists’ Safety Exhibition which contains pictures of dozens of male and female journalists who were killed in October and November 2023, VR – Physical Safety Exhibition, Art for investigative reports on the environment and climate Exhibition, Digital Safety Clinics, ARIJ Investigations, ARIJ AI Exhibition, and DALIL Exhibition for Combating Misinformation. In addition to individual clinics for physical, digital, psychological and legal security and safety, and clinics to support the funding of independent media institutions.
Since its inception in late 2005, ARIJ has trained more than 7,000 journalists, editors, and fact-checkers, and has supervised the production and publication of nearly 1,000 investigative reports and hundreds of in-depth reports. In 2020, ARIJ established the Arab Fact Checkers Network, which supports more than 38 institutions and initiatives from 12 Arab countries with training, networking, and innovation.
